Queensland Performing Arts Centre's Clancestry festival will return in 2026, bringing a program of concerts, theatre, workshops and children's events celebrating Indigenous arts and culture.
The festival will run from 30 July to 8 August at QPAC in Magandjin/Brisbane.
First presented in 2013, Clancestry has become a key event in QPAC's calendar, providing a platform for established and emerging Indigenous artists to share stories, culture and creative work.
The 2026 program features artists and organisations including Jessica Mauboy, Yothu Yindi, Troy Cassar-Daley, Dale Woodbridge-Brown, Andrea James, ILBIJERRI Theatre Company, The First Creatives, Cheryl Overton and Djinama Yilaga.
Kamilaroi Cowboy Dale Woodbridge-Brown and his Camp Culture will take over the Cremorne Theatre from 30 July to 1 August.
The circus production presents a summer camp setting filled with physical performance, humour and storytelling, centred on themes of identity and authenticity.
Ya'Djin Spirit Women, created by The First Creatives, will also run in the Cremorne Theatre from 30 July to 1 August.
The production grew from the Ya'djin Women's Collective, a grassroots group of Indigenous women survivors of sexual assault and domestic and family violence.
Combining dance, theatre and film, the work shares stories of colonial violence, dispossession, motherhood, connection to Country and healing through the voices of two Aunties from the collective.
Jessica Mauboy will perform her cabaret show The Story of Me: A Musical Journey Through My Career in the Concert Hall on 1 August.
The performance premiered at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2025 and reflects on key moments in Mauboy's life and career through music and storytelling.
Gunawarra Re-creation, written by Taungurung writer Isobel Morphy-Walsh, will run in the Cremorne Theatre from 5 to 8 August.
Directed by ILBIJERRI Theatre Company's Artistic Director Andrea James and produced by ILBIJERRI Theatre Company, the work draws on Taungurung stories passed down through generations.
The production explores the preservation of culture through the experiences of three generations of women and the continuation of creation stories.
Musician Troy Cassar-Daley will make his return to QPAC on 6 August with a new performance combining personal stories and songs alongside a string quartet.
A proud Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung man, Cassar-Daley's music draws on experiences from regional Australia and has earned him numerous awards during his career.
The program will also feature Barragga Yangga in the Playhouse on 7 August.
Meaning "Many Songs" in the Dhurga language, the performance is directed by Cheryl Overton and brings together the intergenerational Yuin choir Djinama Yilaga with a group of collaborating musicians.
The work was developed over three years through collaboration between Djinama Yilaga, Four Winds and Bundanon Trust.
Yothu Yindi will close the festival with a concert in the Concert Hall on 8 August.
The performance marks 40 years of the band and also celebrates 35 years since the release of their album Tribal Voice, which includes the song Treaty.
QPAC chief executive Rachel Healy said the festival continues to centre Indigenous voices and creative work.
She reflected on the role the festival plays in bringing audiences together.
"Clancestry brings a different rhythm to QPAC — one shaped by story, memory and voice, while being deeply grounded in culture and community," Ms Healy said.
"Each year the festival creates space for First Nations artists to lead the conversation, share new work and bring audiences together through music, theatre, movement and storytelling.
"The 2026 program reflects the strength, diversity and contemporary energy of First Nations creativity, from major voices on our largest stages to intimate works that invite reflection and connection."
Clancestry's free and low-cost events will be announced in May.
Ticketed performances are on sale through the QPAC website and box office.
